In 2017, Parks Canada announced that bison were successfully transferred into Banff National Park for the first time in more than 130 years. Parks Canada says, “The goal of this reintroduction is to restore a wild, free-roaming bison population to Banff National Park in a way that supports ecosystem integrity, enriches visitor experience, renews cultural connections, and enhances learning and stewardship opportunities.” Due to extreme overhunting, Banff National Park has not had bison roam the lands since 1885. In order to restore the species, Parks Canada will closely monitor the bison initially to ensure a smooth transition before letting them roam freely throughout the entire park.
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Watch a Video Documenting the Process
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For the important transfer of the bison to Banff National Park, Parks Canada chose to use
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. Due to portability, durability, cost efficiency, and the ability to be modified, shipping containers we're very effective for the Banff bison transfer process. With
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, the units were customized to ensure safe and easy transport of the animals. Built for transporting precious cargo across oceans, shipping containers easily handled the trip from Elk Island National Park to Banff National Park further proving these units are an excellent choice to ship any item.
The Bison Relocation Process:
Parks Canada chose 16 healthy bison from Elk Island National Park.
The bison were loaded into shipping containers, modified to safely transport bison.
The animals were transported overnight by truck near the border of Banff National Park.
The bison remained in the containers overnight where they were closely monitored by Parks Canada staff.
The shipping containers were airlifted by helicopter to an enclosed pasture in Banff’s Panther Valley. Once released in the pasture, Parks Canada staff will continue to monitor the health of the herd and ensure the new arrivals have access to food and water.
The bison will be kept in the soft release pasture for approximately 16 months before being released in 2018 to roam freely in the reintroduction zone within Banff National Park.
